Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections are serious healthcare-acquired infections. In this presentation, learn about intravascular devices, the significance of CLABSI in healthcare, practices that affect CLABSI rates, and how to best prevent CLABSIs. Simulated experiences immerse the learner into insertion, site care, accessing, and maintenance for an interactive presentation.

What resources come with mentorship?

• Insertion Technique: This video demonstrates the importance of identifying breaks in sterility during central line insertion. This simulation offers a communication tool from Team STEPPS to affect change in an unsafe situation without creating conflict. This practice can be applied to various situations in healthcare.
• Site Care Technique (Still Photos): This set of still photos depicts opening a central line dressing kit. The purpose of this series is to demonstrate the placement and order of items in the kit which compliments the dressing change process.

• Line Access Technique: Accessing the line via a hub to provide medicine and fluids requires careful cleaning. Identify the correct and incorrect methods for scrubbing the hub focused on the surface scrubbed and length of time scrubbing.

• Line Maintenance Technique (Game): Test your knowledge auditing central lines using this audit checklist. This series of photos depict a correct and incorrect line set up that you might see in a healthcare setting. Practice using the audit checklist to ensure all line maintenance measures are met.

Cleaning and Disinfection of Medical Devices

Cleaning and disinfecting medical devices that are not disposable is part of everyday care. Learn how reusable medical equipment impacts pathogen transmission, and review the types of disinfectants used to prevent this transmission. The Spaulding Classification is used as a guide in this session as we apply knowledge into practice minimizing the risk of pathogen transfer.

What resources come with mentorship?

• Cleaning and Disinfecting a Surface: Effectively cleaning and disinfecting a surface requires mechanical friction and ensuring the germicide comes into contact with the entire surface for the specified amount of time (contact time). Visualize these actions in motion as germs are either eliminated or left behind in this simulated experience.

• Improper Hand Hygiene: Working in healthcare is demanding. Time is often stretched thin which sometimes leads us to be complacent. Watch as this healthcare worker misses a key opportunity for hand hygiene and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) upon entering a patient’s room. The germs left behind can easily make another person ill.

Hand Hygiene and Asepsis

Hand hygiene serves as one the best methods for reducing the spread of infection. Simulated experiences in this presentation illustrate how our hands can spread pathogens and how hand hygiene reduces pathogen transmission. Elements of aseptic technique are reviewed and contrasted against clean technique.

What resources come with mentorship?

• Contaminated Glove Box (still series): Learn the importance of hand hygiene with these still photos. See the invisible germs left behind on a glove box from healthcare workers who fail to perform hand hygiene before reaching for a pair of gloves.

• Sterile Field Demo: Observe the opportunities for contamination and pathogen transmission as this healthcare worker sets up a sterile field. See if you can identify the errors and that broke sterility of that field.

• Improper Hand Hygiene: Working in healthcare is demanding. Time is often stretched thin which sometimes leads us to be complacent. Watch as this healthcare worker misses a key opportunity for hand hygiene and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) upon entering a patient’s room. The germs left behind can easily make another person ill.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) protects both the wearer and those around us. Learn about the various types of PPE, as well as when and how to use them. The use of simulations throughout this presentation provide visual examples that reinforce the importance of PPE use.

What resources come with mentorship? 

• Cough Simulation: Splashes and sprays from patients happen, but you can protect yourself. Watch the invisible effects as this healthcare worker gets coughed on during the routine collection of a nasopharyngeal swab.

• Glove Contamination: Gloves provide great protection when used appropriately, but they are not a substitute for hand hygiene. Observe this healthcare worker removing a pair of gloves and the accidental contamination that occurs.

• Isolation Gowns-Unrated Cover and AAMI Level 1, 2, 3, and 4: Watch this series of isolation gowns be sprayed with water mimicking a bodily fluid spray. The different AAMI levels provide varying levels of protection showing the importance of wearing the appropriate level required for the task.

Safe Injection Practices

Learn the importance of safe injections practices to provide injections in a safe manner that protects the patient, healthcare worker, and others. In this presentation, elements of aseptic technique relating to injection practices are reviewed. Simulated experiences depict the key differences between multi-dose and single-dose vials.

What resources come with mentorship? 

• Safe Injection-Drawing up medication from a multi-dose vial-Identify the Errors: Preparing a medication from a vial must be done with care. This video demonstrates unsafe and improper injection practices while drawing up medication from a multi-dose vial. See if you can spot the errors.

• Safe Injection-Contamination of a Single-Dose Vial: This simulated experience demonstrates the contamination of a single dose vial through multiple accesses, and reuse of a contaminated syringe. See if you can spot the errors.

• Stills of Injection Practices: This series shows the importance of cleaning and disinfecting a surface prior to preparing medications, hand hygiene, cleaning the rubber stopper with alcohol, and careful handling of needle and syringe. Additional still photos provide insight on the risks of recapping needles, and how to safely recap only clean needles.

Blood Cultures 

• Correct Blood Culture Collection
• Skin Antisepsis
• Improper Scrubbing Technique
• Blood Volume (still photo series)

Basic Lab Activities

1. Biosafety Cabinets: From Processing to Testing
2. Balanced Centrifuge
3. Unbalanced Centrifuge
4. Vortex Splash
5. Spot the items that shouldn’t be in the lab (still photo series)

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

1. Catheter Insertion Using Sterile Technique
2. Contaminated Catheter Placement
3. Perineal Care with Indwelling Catheter
4. Contaminated Urine Culture
5. Still photos

Standard Precautions

1. Sharps Hazards
2. Correctly Donning and Doffing Gloves
3. Proper Hand Hygiene with Hand Sanitizer
4. Improper Hand Hygiene with Hand Sanitizer
5. Improper Handling of Textiles and Laundry
6. Respiratory Hygiene and Cough Etiquette